Chapter 616 - 616 Your Brother is Not Dead
Seeing Ye Qing's expression, Cui Yu slightly furrowed his brows and said, "He Qinghua, stop creating trouble. Don't forget, the Xihang Shen Family's people are about to enter Shenchuan City. At this critical juncture, we shouldn't make any more powerful enemies!"
The powerful enemy Cui Yu referred to was naturally the person who saved Ye Qing last night, and also the person who used a small pebble to knock down He Qinghua. These two were clearly not the same person, as He Qinghua could feel it.
Although the person who rescued Ye Qing was not weak, he wasn't strong enough to astonish her. However, the person who truly shocked her was the one who used the small pebble to bring her down. Such a person was indeed someone they, from Sha Men, couldn't afford to provoke!
He Qinghua gave Ye Qing a glance and slightly furrowed her brow. She understood Cui Yu's meaning, but she was somewhat surprised in her heart. What was so crucial about Ye Qing that warranted the protection of two such experts?
Ye Qing glared at He Qinghua resentfully and turned to leave the teahouse. Knowing he was no match for the formidable He Qinghua, he realized he needed to be more cautious in the future. Moreover, learning that someone had rescued him last night left him quite astounded. Who could have saved him from He Qinghua's clutches, and how did that person know he was under her control?
These doubts were, of course, beyond Ye Qing's ability to comprehend. Shaking his head, he stopped pondering the matter and headed straight to Tian Sheng after leaving the teahouse.
Last night, all the venues under Ye Qing's and Li Lianshan's names had reopened for business, and even those venues that Li Lianshan had seized were operating normally. Lin Mengjie, accompanied by Qin Jing, was collecting payments there that morning.
Ye Qing originally owned ten venues, and Li Lianshan had given him thirteen more, making it twenty-three venues in total. However, with so many venues, Ye Qing's expenses had increased substantially. Naturally, he had more people under him now, all of whom needed to be paid.
Ye Qing had no interest whatsoever in managing his subordinates. Most of them reported to Li Lianshan, who thrived on such tasks, as he was eagerly amassing power to become the underground king of Shenchuan City. Ye Qing did not manage his own people either, but instead delegated control to a few trusted brothers like Mad Dog, Da Fei, Yue Peng, Chen Jun, Hou San, and the like, who oversaw these subordinates. Ye Qing normally didn't bother with these affairs but entrusted Black Bear with the responsibility. Therefore, although he carried the title of Eldest Brother, Ye Qing's real managerial duties mainly concerned the orphanage, which was his primary focus.
When he arrived at Tian Sheng, the morning's accounts had already been settled. As soon as Ye Qing entered the office, he heard Qin Jing grumbling from a distance, "These bastards are really asking for it, huh? Such a big venue and it only made twenty thousand in one night? What a bloody joke. Manager Lin, you shouldn't trust them, just tell it straight!"
"No need to rush on this matter," Lin Mengjie said with a light smile. "There are undercurrents in Shenchuan City recently. The Tianqing Gang and the Fu Bang are fragmented and in severe disarray; it's like a time for reshuffling the deck. With so many scattered powers in the city, these nightclub managers are also watching and waiting. They won't align with anyone while the situation remains unclear. Today the venues may be ours, but by evening, they could be snatched away by others. So, they really aren't afraid of us. For them to give twenty thousand is already quite a gesture."
"Hell no, I can't accept that!" Qin Jing slammed the table and said, "This is Little Ye's territory, who dares to snatch Little Ye's venues? They're blatantly trying to embezzle money!"
Lin Mengjie laughed softly, and was about to speak when she saw Ye Qing entering from the doorway. She immediately stood up and said, "Ye, you've arrived."
As Ye Qing walked into the office, a pile of money sat in front of Qin Jing. Seeing Ye Qing, he immediately stood up and complained, "Little Ye, the managers of the thirteen venues we got yesterday are dishonest. They haven't handed over the full amount of money. Look at this..."
"Don't rush it!" Ye Qing gestured with his hand and said, "Let's hear what Manager Lin says!"
Ye Qing sat down, and Lin Mengjie smiled and said, "Jing, you're a bit too anxious. Everyone has their self-interest, and it's normal for these managers to try to pocket some money amidst the chaos. If we call them out on the spot, we'd be disrespecting them, and it might even make them confront us head-on."
"If they dare confront us, just kick them out and replace them!" said Qin Jing.
Lin Mengjie shook her head and replied, "These managers are capable if they've obtained their positions; they're also very familiar with their own venues. Even if we could get rid of them, bringing in new people who don't know the venues well and might not manage as effectively could affect the business."
"Then what do we do?" Qin Jing asked urgently, "Do we just let them keep skimming our money like this?"
Lin Mengjie smiled and reassured, "Don't worry, I'll handle this gradually. Within three days, they will definitely hand over all the money honestly. These things can't be rushed."
Ye Qing nodded and said, "Manager Lin is right; we can't rush these things. Jing, you're just too impulsive. Dealing with so much money every day and you're still so stingy?"
"Hey, that's not right!" Qin Jing protested, "Just because there's lots of money, doesn't mean you can randomly give your own money away. Little Ye, we fought hard to earn this!"
"You, a money collector, what are you fighting for!" Chen Jun laughed from the side, "Look at us with Fei and the likes, that's really fighting for it. Look at Fei, he's still nursing wounds now."
"Qin Jing chuckled and said, "You guys are in external relations, while I'm in logistics. Besides, I ask those people for money every day; they definitely all hate me to death. They might even take a knife to me one day. Now that's truly a high-risk job!""
"Given how dangerous it is, how about we switch…" Chen Jun suggested.
Qin Jing quickly waved his hand and shook his head, "No need, how can I have the heart to let you take the risk? I'll just bear the brunt!"
Seeing how Qin Jing reacted, everyone couldn't help but burst into laughter, even Ye Qing couldn't resist smiling. He picked up the ledger on the table and looked it over. Today, they had collected over one hundred and thirty million in total, which indeed fell short of Ye Qing's expectations. Nevertheless, they had more money than before, and with Lin Mengjie soon to get the businesses on the right track, Ye Qing didn't have to worry too much.
In the morning, he had also visited the orphanage in Eryao Town to check on the construction progress. In the afternoon, Ye Qing drove straight home, calling back Mad Dog, Black Bear, Yue Peng, and even Old Wang Ba, convening a small meeting.
"What's the rush in calling me back, Your Majesty?" complained Old Wang Ba, who had injured his shoulder last time and his right arm was almost completely unusable, leaving only his left arm functional. However, this old fellow was always laughing and jolly, seemingly heartless, as if he didn't care at all.
Seeing his right arm dangling helplessly, Ye Qing always felt an indescribable sense of guilt. But when he saw this sleazy old man combing his hair to the side and grinning toothily with beady eyes that constantly roamed around, Ye Qing couldn't help wanting to kick his foot with the sole of his shoe.
This guy looked too punchable!
"Now, most things here in Shenchuan City have gotten on the right track. Moreover, as things currently stand, we don't have any rivals in terms of our venues and influence here, so we can set aside these affairs for now," Ye Qing paused and spoke gravely, "However, there's still one most important thing I came to Shenchuan City for that I haven't finished yet, and now it's time for me to do it!"
"What is it?" everyone asked in unison, looking at Ye Qing.
After a moment of silence, Ye Qing said somberly, "I came here to look for my brother!"
None in the room save for Black Bear knew the real reason Ye Qing was there. After listening to Ye Qing talk about Ye Jun, everyone's faces changed. Yue Peng and the others finally understood why Ye Qing had sent them to Tianhui City to capture Old Bai last time.
"So, is Junzi really still alive?" Mad Dog asked anxiously; he was an orphan and thus placed great importance on brotherhood.
Ye Qing clenched his teeth, "I don't know. But as long as his body isn't found, I'll keep searching forever!"
"Brother Ye is right; as long as he's not dead, we must keep searching!" Yue Peng slammed the table and said, "Brother Ye, do you want me to go to Tianhui City again and bring that Old Bai here?"
"There's no rush with that…" Ye Qing frowned slightly and spoke seriously, "Before I do that, I need to meet someone first. I'm telling you this because I want you guys to pick out some sharp brothers, about thirty or forty of them. I'm going to Tianhui City myself this time!"
"For what? To meet who?" Yue Peng asked, puzzled.
Ye Qing said solemnly, "Lin Tianhao!"
"Lin Tianhao?" The others looked at each other, puzzled. The man was already in prison; why did Ye Qing still want to meet him?
Ye Qing wanted to meet Lin Tianhao again because he suddenly realized that what Lin Tianhao had told him last time might have been a lie.
Ye Qing had thought that the Lin family had put their previous differences aside, but just the day before yesterday, he found out that Lin Yaqing was still working against him behind his back. Moreover, when Black Bear and the others had gone to Tianhui City to capture Old Bai last time, they almost lost their lives. Ye Qing couldn't help but suspect that all this was someone's setup. Lin Tianhao had been so straightforward in telling him about Old Bai last time that Ye Qing felt something was off. And now it seemed possible that all of this was a trap arranged by Lin Yaqing and Lin Tianhao!
"Come, let the old man have a look!" Old Wang Ba, who had been eating fruit on the side, suddenly stretched out his left hand, held Ye Qing's face, and looked him over, "Little Ye, rest assured. I swear to you that your brother isn't dead. And I'm sure you two will see each other again!"